The Sevilles: Chapter One-Vinny's Return
by Sketchpad
Summary: Perpetually dating Dave prepares for his latest attempt at love while working on a new batch of songs, only he didn't prepare for The Chipmunks' mother, Vinny, to make an impromptu return. Can he handle work, a date, and a Vinny, all at the same time?
1. Chapter 1

The sound of synthetic piano flowed through the Seville home while the boys went about their various concerns; Simon watched the weather on the afternoon news, Theodore listened to music through his headphones, and Alvin approached the den after spending time in the kitchen.

Peeking into the room, he saw his father sitting by his desk listening to recordings of instrumental tracks from the digital audio workstation software in his desktop computer. By the PC was a notepad scrawled with last-minute changes to notes heard and the recordings' arrangements.

"How are the songs coming along, Dave?" Alvin asked, strolling further in.

Dave nodded. "I'm almost done, and then, after I drop them off with Sy, I think a little celebration is in order."

"Ohh! Can we go someplace cool, Dave...like Nome, Alaska?" his son snarked. But, Dave understood where it came from and commiserated.

"It has been uncommonly hot these past few weeks."

Theodore, overhearing and entering the room, added, "I know! I like ice cream soup, but not when it's still in the cone!"

"Oh, that reminds me," Dave pointed out. "Stop sticking your head in the refrigerator, Alvin. It wastes electricity."

"I'd cool off faster in the freezer, Dave," Alvin countered. "But, I can't reach it."

"By the way, has Priscilla called anytime I was away?" Dave asked him, as a way to change the subject. "I didn't want to lose touch with her."

Alvin scoffed. "Your date hasn't called, Dave. But, it's nice that she likes 'distinguished-looking men', with your hair graying ever so slightly, and all."

"Funny, Alvin," Dave smirked. "But, Priscilla doesn't care about any of that. Otherwise, we wouldn't have hit it off at that music industry conference."

Dave leaned back in his chair after his boast, his confidence suddenly clouded with doubts born from countless past failures where promising dates turned into relationships that never lasted more than a month, at best. Hope may spring eternal, but he was starting to feel an autumn of defeat in the air.

"We're going on another date soon and I just want this to really work out," he confessed.

Theodore approached his father and gave his hand a comforting pat. "She's nice, Dave and she likes you. She could be the one."

"I hope so, Theodore," Dave sighed. With a ring from the desk phone, the moment was broken. Dave picked up the receiver, only to feel _himself_ picked up when he heard a woman voice on the other end.

"Oh! Hi, Priscilla! The boys and I were just talking about you," Dave exclaimed. Then, after a question, answered, "We are definitely on for our date! I wouldn't miss it for the world. I'll see you then! 'Bye!

Dave stood from his desk, his resolve renewed as he regarded his sons. "Okay, boys. I want you to help make sure that the house straightened up before Priscilla comes over. I want to make a good first impression."

Theodore beamed. "Okay, Dave. See, I told you."

Alvin, not really looking forward to time spent doing housework, decide to jab Dave one more time, saying with a smirk, "Will do, _old man_."

"Alvin..." Dave sighed, not caring if it gave his son such satisfaction, reaching over and pulling a thumb drive free from his computer and pocketing it. He then stood from the desk and started to leave the room. "I better turn on the air conditioning."

"What?" Alvin asked in jest, with Theodore trailing behind him. "'Old man' is a term of endearment!"

As Dave approached the thermostat in the dining room, Alvin offered, "Y'know, Dave, I could always do that for you."

"Sorry, Alvin, but it's a Seville tradition that the power bill should never be as high as the mortgage," Dave quipped as he decided on a lower temperature. Then, the doorbell chimed.

"Will one of you get that?" he called out.

"I've got it," Alvin said, getting to the door first. "I guess Priscilla couldn't wait for that date."

The broad door swung open and any clever or snarky comment he would have chirped died under the pleasant shock upon seeing a face as familiar as it was unexpected.

"Mom!" he blurted, catching the attention of his brothers.

"Mom?" Simon and Theodore echoed before all three pups rushed into her with a big hug by the threshold.

"Oh, my little ones!" Vinny exhaled, heroically keeping her balance against the emotional assault. "It's so good to see you, again!"

"Same here!" Simon concurred.

"Come in!" offered Theodore.

From the dining room, Dave heard the boys call his name from the living room. From its urgency, it prompted him to wonder, nervously, if Alvin's earlier comment about Priscilla was accurate.

"What is it? Is Priscilla here?" he asked, reaching the living room and preparing his smoothest greeting. The female Chipmunk sitting on the couch by the window was the last person he expected. "Vinny?"

Vinny gave him a seemingly sheepish nod. "Oh! Hello, Dave."

"How are you doing?" he asked, cordially, mentally standing down from 'Impress Mode.' "Have you come to see the boys?

"I'm doing fine and yes, I did come to see them," she said. "I...hope I didn't come at a bad time."

"Not at all, but why didn't you tell us that you were coming over? We could have gotten the place prepared for you."

One of Vinny's bare feet began to swivel slightly, the heel making small circles against the base of the couch. "Uh...I was just thinking about all of you, and so, I decided to come over on the spur of the moment. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all!" the boys said in happy unison.

Dave shrugged, amicably. "Well, I guess that the ayes have it. Where are your bags? I'll take them up to the guest room."

Vinny, herself, shrugged with a grin. "I didn't bring any. I decide to travel light, this time."

"Oh, okay. Well, make yourself at home," Dave bade her, turning towards the kitchen. "I'll bring out some punch. It must be sweltering out there."

After he departed, Vinny turned her focus back to her sons. "Oh, my boys! I missed you so much. There's never been a day that I hadn't thought about you."

"We missed you, too, Mom," Alvin replied with a rare sincerity.

Theodore chirped. "It's great that you're here, now, Mom! We've got air conditioning. You can stay here as long as you like!"

"That's sweet, Theodore," Vinny muttered. "But, I don't want to be a burden to you boys and Dave.

Simon exclaimed. "Nonsense! Dave would love to have you around the house."

"Yeah!" Alvin agreed, easily. "Mi casa es sua casa, and all of that!"

Returning with a pitcher and some glasses on a tray, Dave, overhearing, voiced his opinion. "The boys are right, Vinny. You can always come over the house. You don't even need a reason to."

Giving a visible sigh of relief, she relaxed. "Oh, thank you, Dave, boys." Then, she hopped off the couch to address them with an honorable glint in her bespectacled eyes. "But, if I do stay, for however long it is, I will not take advantage of your hospitality, or take over your home, like I did the last time I was here."

Before any word of polite debate over her last visit had the time to be said, she continued her pledge.

"You may be city folk, but this is _your city_ and I will make every effort to keep to your ways while I pull my weight and keep your home in tip-top shape. I insist!"

Dave, familiar with Vinny's old-fashioned sense of propriety, knew better than to argue the point, especially when it actually benefited the whole.

"Well, I am expecting company soon," he decided, suddenly remembering one small point that he _did_ take umbrage with. "And you don't have to change who you are to be with us, Vinny. However, it would be nice to have some help keeping the place in order and the boys in line. While you're here, this is your home, too."

With personal honor satisfied, Vinny brightened. "Then, it's all settled! I'll start first thing in the morning. In the meanwhile, boys, you can show me some more things about your city. I didn't have much time to do so the last time I was here."

"Sure!" her sons chirped.


	2. Chapter 2

Throughout the week, Vinny was as good as her word. When she had the time, she was a reasonably quick study of the modern world, thanks to the family's refresher courses, with Dave and Alvin guiding her in such topics as understanding currency and its basic transactions, Simon tutoring her on powered technology, both household and public, and Theodore offering better ways to fuse her decidedly bland vegetarian cuisines with more flavorful components.

For her part, she proved to be a homemaking sorceress, making sure that the kids were in bed at a decent hour and getting them ready for school on time, making sure Dave, himself, was organized and on time for work, keeping them well fed, creating natural concoctions that cleaned otherwise unbeatable stains, etc.. She was also a relentless cleaning general for whom an unkempt house was an enemy to cowed.

"You know, Dave, for such a big house, it's in such a state!" Vinny commented with a shake of her head. "It's a wonder how you and the boys could live like this before I came!"

Dave, sipping his coffee, gave a casual glance around the living room and the couch he sat in. It didn't look any different than when it and the rest of the house were cleaned or even just straightened up before, but there was a difference he could _feel_ when he wasn't looking at his surroundings critically.

Protective doilies, antimacassars, and the odd tea set lent the place a cozy, calming, antiquated charm, and strategically placed mason jars of dried rose petals, spices, and rose petals filled the home with a pleasing rainbow of light fragrances.

Yes, he could feel the difference, a newness, a change that was sorely missing here.

"You're right, Vinny," he nodded. "The place has never looked better, the boys have their mother back and are behaving, well...behaving better than normal, and you've kept us running like a fine-tuned clock. You're the best thing to happen here in a long time."

Whether the meaning of his last words was, on its face, plain, or there was some hint of deeper subtext to them, all Vinny knew was that to hear them made her stiffen with pride, and at the same time, bring a soft rose through her fuzzy cheeks.

* * *

One night, on the following week, Dave trotted to the door and opened it, revealing a beautiful brunette woman of around her late thirties gracing the threshold with a nervous smile.

"Priscilla," Dave greeted as he allowed her to enter. "Come in! Come in!"

Waiting by the foot of the staircase, Alvin, Simon, Theodore, and Vinny watched Dave take his date's jacket and hang it on the hook by the front door. After he was done, he turned to introduce them to her.

"Priscilla, these are my sons, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore." The boys made their greetings as Dave then regarded Vinny. "And this is their mother, Vinny."

"Hello, Priscilla," Vinny said as she approached her and held her hand. "Dave has been telling us so much about you."

"All good, I hope!" Priscilla quipped.

"Of course," Vinny answered, cordially, not revealing whether she knew that it was a joke or not. "He tells me that you are a...uh, a sales representative in a record company, but I'm not familiar with that."

"Oh, that means that I help sell records for Hip Happening," Priscilla explained. "Or, I should say cd's, these days."

"Oh, a salesman!" Vinny perked with some understanding. "Then, you must get awfully worn out traveling from place to place. You really wear it well."

With the pups snickering behind their mother and her unknowingly backhanded compliment, Priscilla was about to explain the synergistic power of the Internet with her profession, or maybe just amicably defend herself, when Dave smoothly interjected himself between them by turning his attention instead to the boys.

"Okay, fellas, it's time to go to bed," he reminded them. "Say goodnight to Priscilla and let Vinny tuck you in."

With Simon and Theodore bidding them goodnight and Alvin giving a cocky, "Auf Wiedersehen," the three ascended to their bedroom, shepherded by Vinny.

"They're nice," Priscilla commented as he led her to the dining room and the set table before them.

* * *

The rising and falling melody of Dave's piano filled the living room while Priscilla took her ease on the couch after dinner. His private performance for her seemed to sound like a conversation he was having with himself, making points with the softer chords and counter-pointing them with stronger ones.

"Something you're working on?" Priscilla asked during a quiet passage in the song.

The question brought his attention back to her. "This? No, it's just something that's been banging around in my head for a few years. Anything new goes to the boss, little pieces of me that I load in my thumb drive for the company. But, it's a living, I guess."

Priscilla chuckled. "That sounds like something I'd say. I'm not lyrical or anything like that. That's why I'm in sales and you're a musician. I'm just too cut-throat for it."

"I think you have a beautiful soul and you probably use it to be the best salesperson in your field." Dave then made the kind of face a person who nipped his own tongue would create. "Sorry, it sounded much more romantic in my head."

"Don't worry, I believe you," she placated, watching him stand up from the piano, and head towards the staircase.

"Thanks," Dave said, starting his ascent. "I have to excuse myself, but I'll be right back."

His date nodded. "Take your time."

As she watched him go upstairs, Priscilla slipped a slim hand into her open purse on the floor by her feet. She quietly rooted around until she retrieved a crumpled napkin and a pen.

At the top of the stairs, Dave noticed Vinny padding from the guest room she stayed in, dressed in her modest, pink nightgown and cap.

"Oh! Hi, Vinny. How are the boys?"

She glanced in the direction of the boys' bedroom. "They fine. Don't mind me. I'm just going to the kitchen to get something to drink, and then, I'm off to bed, myself."

"Okay, then I'll just say goodnight."

"Goodnight, Dave, and thank you, again, for taking me in, I mean...letting me visit," she corrected.

"You're welcome, Vinny," Dave nodded, pleasantly. Somehow, hearing the sincerity in her voice always made a smile slip out of him.

Passing him and reaching the foot of the staircase, Vinny turned towards the kitchen, but then, heard Priscilla's voice coming from the living room behind her.

The Human woman waved at her. "Hi. What's your name, again?"

The Chipmunk regarded her. "Vinny."

"That's pretty. We didn't have much time, earlier, but I'm glad we had the chance to meet. Dave's told me all about you and I have to say that he's lucky to have you around, what with him handling three kids, and all."

The mother gave an experienced chuckle. "Oh, they may seem like a handful, but my little ones are so sweet once you get to know them."

"If this date works out, I just may."

"Well, Dave is a good man," Vinny recommended, sagely. "If he's courting you, then chances are, it _will_ work out."

"Wow! Courting? I haven't heard anybody say _that_ in a while," Priscilla muttered under her breath, missing the subtle hint of conviction in her company's voice. "But, you might be right. Oh, and Dave told me that you do most of the cleaning around here when he's at work."

"That's true."

"Well," Priscilla continued, conversationally. "He wanted me to tell you that if you're cleaning, say around his studio or den, and you ever see this," She held up the opened napkin, displaying a crude drawing of a thumb drive scrawled upon its wrinkled surface. "He'd really like it if you threw it out with the garbage."

Looking at the object, Vinny asked, "Why? Doesn't he like napkins?"

Priscilla was thrown for a second before understanding. "No, not the napkin, the thing I drew on it. He says that it's just junk, one of the kids' old toys, but he doesn't have the heart to get rid of it before he buys them a new one. If you could get rid of it for him, it would make him really happy."

Vinny thought upon it as she studied the details of the drawing. It seemed like such a strange thing to look out for, but in the end, she acquiesced. "If that's what he wants, then I'll do it. It's the least I can do for all that he's done for me and the boys. But, for now, please excuse me, and I'll wish you goodnight."

"Goodnight, Vinny!" Priscilla bade her, as the Chipmunk resumed her walk to the opposite end of the house. "Sleep tight!"

* * *

Due to her prior days of diligence in housekeeping, the next morning, Vinny found her chores light as she had her attention split between keeping a fine layer of particulates at bay with a dust rag, and her recent viewership of what her neighbor, Miss Miller called, "The Soaps."

Simon had called the flat-screened wonder she was dusting a "TV," but she had misheard him and thought he had said "TB," which she had surmised meant "Theater Box," which she certainly believed it to be.

This particular bit of theater was a daytime drama called, "The Shadow of Love," chronicling the love triangle between two vampire brothers and the daughter of a vampire hunter that they both loved secretly.

At the moment, the woman in question, who normally faced the existential crisis of losing her humanity between her two paramours, and losing her life to every other monster in the show, now faced one of the heart, when she encountered two possible competing love interests for the brothers in the form of comely, female vampire twins.

_'What have I lost?'_ the Human thought introspectively after a staking. _'Did my indecision doom me to lose the one I love...or the other one I love?'_

Ordinarily, such strange travails, seen as a kind of primer for social interactions in the modern world, held Vinny in the same level of fascination usually reserved for anthropologists, but now, she suddenly found herself sympathizing with the wayward Human, perhaps too closely.

A stray thought of Dave came to her unbidden, making her squeeze the cloth in her hand, as her stomach twitched. She felt like a wanton. This wasn't proper. She wasn't a Jezebel. She was a welcomed guest, though for how long, she couldn't say, especially if the host suddenly feared that she was horning in on his "date."

Vinny sighed and walked over to the den to continue her cleaning and to clear her mind of improper, disruptive distractions.

_'How long had it been since I was courted?'_ she wondered while she mechanically dusted the faux houseplants in the corner of the room._ 'In a redwood's age, I'd wager. But, am I too late for that? Am I too...old? Have I waited too long? And...why am I thinking of him like this, _now_?'_

With a frustrated chirrup, Vinny tried to focus through the little pricks of anguish and onto the job at hand, working her way towards Dave's desk and wishing that she had turned the damned television off.

_'It's nothing. It's innocent. It's just your doubts, again,'_ she thought._ 'He's just the only Human I ever trusted. He's kind, compassionate, hard-working...all the qualities of a good mate...and...he's actually not bad looking for a Human...'_

"Stop it, Vinny! Stop being so selfish!" she chirruped aloud. "I'm happy for him!"

She found herself less dusting the desk's legs as attacking them, her mind in an anxious turmoil.

_'Surely...'_ she admitted. _'He could have been the one worthy to win me. But, how would he have known that? The only overture I ever made to him was to leave my children on his doorstep, and then, disappear for years, afterward!'_

The self-debate and excoriation were draining Vinny, confusing her. She was eager to admit defeat and back off from this line of reasoning.

_'It doesn't matter. I'm just helping around the house, helping my children. That should be enough for me, shouldn't it?'_

Despondently, she looked up at the humming, boxy device sitting on the desk, cables, and wires trailing from its dusty back. A computer, according to Simon. Just another thing to clean.

She turned to face the front of the machine, and upon looking up, had noticed a small, flat peg extending on its paneled face. A peg that, surprisingly, she recognized.

_'The piece of junk?'_ Vinny realized, wondering why it was attached there, of all places. Reaching up, she dutifully plucked it out, and then, carried it over to a nearby wastepaper basket in the room for collection, later.

Absently, Vinny thought back to what Priscilla had told her last night. _'...it would make him really happy.'_

She resigned herself to those words, coming to the decision that no matter what she felt, whatever came of her stay, or however long it lasted, she would make him happy. She owed it to him.

The thumb drive was dropped into the trash.

* * *

Early that evening, Alvin had, grumpily, entered the backyard from the kitchen, finished tossing the small wastebasket bags into the trash bin for the weekly pick-up, and then, rushed back into the house.

Vinny had finished setting the table with her fare, a light meal of sandwiches and a hearty soup made of spiced acorn broth when she glanced at Alvin exiting the kitchen and eyeing the food with intent.

"Don't forget to wash your hands, Alvin," she reminded him. "You took the trash out, after all."

Her son sighed and gave an eye-roll for good measure. "But, Mom!"

Vinny was unmoved. "No "buts", young munk! Even raccoons wash their hands before a meal. Upstairs, and tell your brothers that it's time for dinner."

Grousing, he marched upstairs and, a few minutes later, all three brothers had descended the staircase just as Dave was exiting from the den, concern etched deep in his face. He caught them as they were about to pass by, and asked, "Fellas, have you seen my thumb drive? I had it in the den, last night. I have to bring it to the studio tomorrow so Sy and the engineers can have a look at the songs."

His sons shrugged helplessly with Alvin speaking for them. "Sorry, Dave, but we haven't seen it. Maybe it's in your bedroom."

"I hope so, guys!" he sighed, fretfully. "There's an album's worth of new songs in there!"

"Dave, boys, are you ready to eat?" Vinny asked from the dining room.

"W-We're coming, Vinny, "Dave answered, following the boys to the dinner table.

Taking their seats, they began to tuck into their meals, but Theodore managed to stop long enough to remember Dave's quandary and comfort him.

"Don't worry, Dave. After dinner, we'll all look for the drive. It has to be in the house, somewhere."

"Thanks, Theodore."

"What's wrong, Dave?" Vinny asked.

"Dave can't find his thumb drive, Mom," Simon explained.

"Oh, that! I threw it away," she said, simply, before the sound of a man who suddenly faced unemployment bolted to his feet from the table, upsetting both his soup bowl and the rest of the family.

"What's wrong?" Vinny asked, again, seeing the color drain from his face.

"V-Vinny," he choked. "All of the songs I-I've been working on are in that and I have to bring it to work, tomorrow."

Now, it was Vinny's turn to look stricken and confused. "What? But...why would you put your songs in a piece of junk that you didn't want, anymore?"

"What?" he howled, rivaling her confusion. "What are you talking about? Nevermind! Everybody, let's go to the trash bins outside. It might still be there!"

* * *

The only consolation they could find when they reached the empty, overturned bins, was that there wasn't a strong enough breeze to spread the lighter trash around from the ripped bags that littered the lawn.

Except for Vinny, standing stiffly under the lit back door, the males fell to their knees, rooting through the trash as quickly and as carefully as they could. Even the garbage wasn't spared, as they pawed through it, praying that some bag they hadn't found yet, had the missing drive.

"Boys, I-I'm sorry," Vinny managed to say. "I...don't understand. What did I throw out?"

"A thumb drive, Mom," Simon said, suppressing the urge to stop digging through a particularly messy garbage bag. "It's a storage device, uh, like a tiny, little book that stores any information that you put into it."

_"Yuck!"_ Theodore exclaimed, wiping his hands clean against his sweater, then added, "And if the songs are gone, Dave'll get into trouble with our boss, Sy Heaves!"

Knees aching, Dave stood and gave Vinny a pained look. "Why? Why did you do that, Vinny?"

"I-I thought that...But, Priscilla said..."

"Priscilla called me today while I was at work. She said that you were acting strange when she talked to you, again, but she didn't want to say anything because she was afraid that it would have ruined our date. I thought you two had hit it off."

"I thought so, too!" she squeaked. "She told me that you would be happy...if I threw your little thing away!"

Dave huffed, casting his imposing six-foot height against her like the shadow of a mountain. "Why would she say that? That makes no sense, and anyway, if you didn't understand what something was, you should have asked me or the boys, first! Now, because of you, I could get fired! You gave me the boys to take care of. Well, how can I provide for the boys if you take away the only thing that keeps us from the streets?"

Rattled, Vinny couldn't answer his righteous harangue, but she still tried to defend her position. "But Dave, I didn't-"

"Didn't what?" he spat. "_Think?_"

_No..._

The mask of initial well-adjustment was ripped from Vinny's face and she was shaken by the honesty of that answer, her moistening eyes widening just a little as if finally came out of a long trance.

Her self-destruction born of her fear of failure, the predator of her own making, had finally come. It had always stalked her, like the old boar that once stalked her along the highlands and valleys of the deep wood. But, this time, he had made the kill, bursting the bubble of her short dream life, and like in nature, it was brutal and mercifully swift. She almost welcomed it.

"No...I didn't," Vinny admitted, shakily, her shame making her heartbeat so loud that she had trouble hearing herself. "You were right, Dave. It didn't matter what Priscilla said, I should have come to you. I didn't learn from the last time I was here, and once again, I caused more harm than good in your life..."

She looked to her sons, adding sadly, "In all of your lives. I wish that I can fix all of this, make your boss understand the mess I made, so he wouldn't take it out on you. But...maybe my leaving in the morning will make some amends. I'm so sorry."

With that, Vinny stiffly walked from the threshold, followed by her children tearfully begging for her to stay, and slowly bee lined to the front of the house, shuffling toward the large tree that stood on the curb.

As she climbed up its wide trunk, she gave a morose thought to her life, so far.

It wasn't so much the failures in it that she feared; not being a good enough mother, or wasting time not finding another mate who would love her because she still carried a torch for her late husband, or not being a good enough of a friend to Dave, as was the _scope_. That every failing she bore on her shoulders would tear the family apart and destroy them, somehow.

Finding a strong bough to rest upon, she settled in, watching the sunset through the branches as she listened to her sons scramble up the tree to be with her.

With a sigh, she decided that their tree climbing skills definitely needed more work, but any chance to teach them better was quickly flowing away from her, like her bitter tears.

At the rear of the house, Dave stood like a statue of indecision and regret in a field of trash and garbage. The sounds of his sons' sorrow at the end of their mother's contrition still rang in his burning ears.

The night was destroyed, only the ashes of their heartbreak remained, and as he looked down, Dave, guiltily, unclenched the fist he didn't even know was made.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Dave left his house, clad in pajamas and a robe, and padded through the dewy lawn to the tree on the curb.

Stopping at its base, he tentatively looked up into the dim canopy. "Fellas! Vinny!"

From the pile of sleeping Chipmunks on a bough, Simon heard his father's voice first and, gradually, awakened. To his chagrin, was also the first see that Vinny was gone.

He nudged his brothers awake and they all sat, feeling gut-punched, from her absence, hardly acknowledging Dave's call. Last night fell apart for them so fast that they didn't even think of saying their goodbyes, only reeling from the knowledge that they weren't going to see her again, of her own volition.

"Fellas, come down," Dave beckoned. "Is Vinny there with you?"

"No," came the sullen, unison answer and his head hung in quiet grief.

Part of him wanted her to still be there, up in the tree, just being Vinny, to help with the pretense that none of this ugliness ever happened. The other part knew that she would be true to her word, leaving a void not just in their children's' hearts, but in his.

The three brothers, blearily, descended from the branches, with Theodore asking by the roots, "Dave, will Mom be alright?"

"Will she ever come back to us?" Alvin asked.

The guilt in his eyes and his hang-dog expression gave them a clearer answer than any he could halfheartedly muster.

Yet, the stark truth was that life moved on, as evidenced in time ticking away from them. There were still responsibilities that they all had to attend to.

"C'mon, fellas," Dave muttered. "You have to get ready for school."

Too despondent to protest, the three silently marched with Dave into the house and the rest of the uncertain day.

* * *

Dave could think of better ways to spend a day-off, as he stepped out onto the backyard, later that morning. His mind was twisted with nothing but worse-case scenarios, each direr than the last, concerning his career's future, and by extension, his sons'.

As the premier record producer for his company, Megabux Records, Sy Heaves' long years of musical talent was belied by his penny-pinching, as was the nature of his job, and his gruff, but fair attitude. He was no-nonsense, but he respected the fellow professional.

With a nervous sigh, Dave knew that such respect was now in serious jeopardy. How could see Sy tomorrow and tell him what he had lost? Precious time and invested resources were wasted on his watch. He had seen the occasional musical veteran fired from projects for less, only he might get fired, entirely.

He knelt on the ground, picking up the rest of the trash that he had missed collecting in the dim light of last evening after Vinny and the boys had left him.

In the full light of day, he could see the remaining refuse more clearly and was tempted to spend the rest of the day re-rooting through the waste to find the thumb drive, but his heart wasn't in it, now. He and the boys physically went through every bag in the bins. If they hadn't found it by now, then it was well and truly lost, somehow.

Gathering a small pile of cartons to put back into one of the bins, his eyes caught the color of something that his brain counted as wholly incongruous to what his family commonly used.

A slim, red, faux fingernail stood out against the green of the lawn. He picked it up and examined its shape and color more closely, and then, his mind clicked with stomach-twisting understanding.

He was in his car and out of the driveway in three minutes.

* * *

Hip Happening Records was the nexus of that part of the music scene in downtown Los Angeles that catered to the more trend-setting, fad-hopping crowd of producers, musicians, and consumers. Yet, its longevity was a testament to the generations of talented professionals working there, and its decades of savvy entertainment insight.

A bell, softly, chimed on one of its sales floors and Dave exited from the elevator, anxiously looking down its corridor.

He had no reason to think that he would be barred from visiting any of the offices, but corporately speaking, he was behind enemy lines, for Hip Happening was Megabux's main rival.

Leaving the side corridor of the elevator bank, Dave entered the main thoroughfare of the floor, mentally choosing which offices to check out first, when he heard a small commotion, up ahead.

Fearing a possible confrontation with security, Dave ducked back into the side corridor and pressed a nearby elevator's up button, hoping that it would take him away from suspicious guards, while he was here.

While he waited for the car to come, he peeked out onto the main corridor and watched with considerable shock, Vinny being chased down by two guards, who were momentarily slowed when they had to avoid a secretary Vinny accidentally made lose balance as she weaved past her.

Dave mentally shunted the surprise of finding her there, of all places, to formulate a plan. It was desperate and not long in coming.

Ducking back into the side corridor, he waited, hoping that Vinny wouldn't think to go for the elevators and lead the guards to him. Plus, the elevator hadn't arrived, yet, so that also hampered possible escape.

He could hear her huff and puff closer, as she, miraculously, ran past the side corridor, signaling his cue.

He quickly stepped out onto the main hallway, in front of the two guards and stuck his foot out, tripping the one which made the other crash into.

"Vinny!" Dave called out before she went too far to help. The chime of an elevator car was heard as it, finally, arrived and opened its doors.

She turned and ran to his familiar voice, as he motioned to the elevators. She reached him, just as the cursing guards began to recover.

Dave slipped into the car and managed to pull Vinny in with him at the last minute. He chose the lobby button and the double doors closed on the irate men.

Catching their breaths, Dave asked, "Vinny, what are you doing here? I thought that you left for home."

She looked away, sheepishly. "I...I was going to leave before the boys woke up, so they wouldn't follow me, but I wanted to find your drive thing before I left, to try and make it up to you, somehow. That was when I found this on the ground by the trash."

She produced a stained card to him, which he took and read. _Hip Happening Records._

"This was there?" he asked.

"Yes," Vinny nodded. "I went to its address and was told below to ride one of these fast-climbers to the...sales department. I went too high and reached the president's floor by mistake, but that's where I found Priscilla. When I asked her why she told me to throw your drive away, she sent those two men to get me."

She pointed to the card. "Hold it to your nose, Dave. What do you smell?"

He did so. "Perfume."

The pieces were falling into line so fast, that Dave couldn't help but shrug, fatalistically. "I think..."

Before he could finish his comment, the car doors parted, revealing the two guards flanking an annoyed Priscilla, beckoning them out.

Gathered by the car, Dave held out his hand, palm up, to show the false red fingernail to the assembly, watching for a reaction. He was rewarded with Priscilla, guiltily, clenching a fist.

"I think this nail belongs to you," he reasoned. "You must have lost it when you were going through our garbage."

"You also dropped your card, as well," Vinny added.

"Where is my thumb drive, Priscilla?" Dave asked, evenly.

The woman's eyes widened just slightly in readiness to think up a lie, but the weight of the evidence against her and the knowledge that he wouldn't be able to recover the music in time to make any difference, ultimately, made her shrug and admit, "My employers have it and I was paid quite well to play make-believe with you, Dave. As in..."Let's make-believe that I liked you." "Let's make-believe that I cared about anything you said," or, "Let's make-believe that you'll still have a job after today!"

Dave, quietly, stood against her taunts, as if, not wanting to defend himself.

Concerned, Vinny looked up at Dave, at his eyes. They did shimmer with contempt for this cold woman, but just as great as the contempt was something she had never seen in them before. Shame, striking into him, like a lash.

"Stop it!" Vinny demanded, confused by the cruelty. "Wh-Why are you doing this to him? Why did you break Dave's heart?"

"Because she's an industrial spy, Vinny," he, soberly, explained, moved by her compassion for him, despite his regret at lashing out at her, before. "She used us to get what she wanted from me. The music."

"Is that's why you lied to me?" Vinny charged Priscilla, who, again shrugged at this tableau.

"It's what pays the bills," the woman said, simply. "Now, I'll let these two gentlemen escort you outside. _Roughly_, if need be." That was the guards' cue to step ahead of her and flank the two trespassers.

Deserving the loss of his job and the probable scorn of his children, Dave could only nod in grim acceptance.

"Okay, Priscilla, you won," he admitted. Then, he thought upon Vinny with new-found respect, and with steel in his voice, added, "But, you made me yell at the mother my..._our_ children. Be thankful that the guards are still here."

She would never confess to the tiny knot that twitched in her stomach after hearing that. She, instead, stepped aside and ordered the guards, "Get them out of here."

* * *

As the guards departed from the closing doors of the building, Dave leaned against its facade, taking stock of the day.

The truth. As hard as it was to hear, it was comforting. It eased his soul to know that it was not incompetence, but sheer bad luck that brought him and his family low, though it would be small consolation once they lost their house.

He noticed that Vinny was strangely quiet. Ashamedly so, and so, he stood from the wall and approached her. Seeing him come closer to her, she had a hard time looking at him.

"What's wrong, Vinny?" he asked.

"I...I'm happy that things worked out for you, Dave," she began, and then, sighed in anguish as she continued. "Although, I was the one who made a mess of your life, again."

"Again?" he asked, somewhat confused.

"Yes. I, obviously, wasn't ready for motherhood when I left the boys on your doorstep and left the burden to you. I tried to be a better mother, later on and wound up taking over your home and hospitality and driving a wedge between us and the boys. And now, I may have cost you and the boys your home. This is why I waited so long to see you. My failures are too deep and I run the risk of bringing everybody down with me. I've lost my home and now I've helped take yours away!"

Dave shook in surprise. Everything she said took a backseat to that bombshell that blew up in his lap. "Wait a minute. You've lost your home? How?"

"The heatwaves. The droughts," Vinny said, sadly. "They set off wildfires all over the place and one came and destroyed my home. I know that my friend Ally escaped, but I don't know about the others. It happened so fast. I didn't want to come here and be a burden to you and the boys, again, but I had no choice. I'm sorry, Dave."

Today was a day for hearing truths, Dave conceded, kneeling before a sorrowful Vinny. But now, he was going to speak some, himself.

"Vinny, I want you to know something. I never blamed you for leaving the boys with me. I've loved them ever since I found them, and I thank you for bringing them into my life."

The emotion was crippling Vinny from within. "Dave..."

"Let me finish. We both said and did things we shouldn't have when you visited the last time and I'm just as guilty of what I did, as you, so you have nothing to worry about. But, _I_ made a mess of things, now, and I have to put them right."

Holding her small hands, he looked into her eyes to project the sincerity of every word he was about to say. "Vinny, I am so sorry that I yelled at you, last night. Priscilla took advantage of both of us, but I should have been more patient and understanding to you. I was so caught up in my work that I saw it as my life, and I was so scared that it would be gone, that I took it out on you. I should never have done that. I love music, but it means nothing if I lose you. Come back home with me."

Tearfully, she noticed what she heard, and couldn't believe it. "Back home? But, Dave, how can you say that? What if you're homeless, like me?"

"Hey, I lived in shabbier places," he chuckled, and then, said, "But, even if we lose the house, I want us to always be a family. The boys need their mother and...it's obvious, now, that I need you, too."

_'I need you, too...'_ The words almost overwhelmed her. It didn't matter what the_ need_ entailed, her skipping heart was already convinced.

"Oh, Dave!" she cried, hugging him and burying her teary face into his shoulder. "But, your music is gone. What will you do?"

A strange thought suddenly came upon Dave, at that moment. One involving time, teamwork, and if they were really lucky, mercy.

* * *

Three bicycles, forlornly, cruised in formation through the neighborhood heading for the Seville residence with only enough speed to keep their sullen riders from tipping over.

School was over for the day, but for Alvin, Simon, and Theodore, as they coasted into the driveway, it felt like they were invited to a wake.

After they dismounted, they quietly made their way to the front door, unlocked and opened it, stepped into the foyer, and heard something that they never thought they would hear. A happy duet and music coming from the living room's piano, coming from a Human and a Chipmunk's voice!

The brothers trotted over to the living room archway and peeked within, so as not to disturb the crooners.

Seated by the piano were Dave and Vinny; he, playing a pleasant melody, and both of them singing a catchy, recently written love song. Hastily scribed music sheets and a notepad full of lyrics littered the floor around them, the result of a collaborative effort by the two of them.

(Vinny)

It's funny how you sound as if you're right next door

When you're really half a world away

I just can't seem to find the words I'm looking for

To say the things that I want to say

I can't remember when I felt so close to you

It's almost more than I can bear

Though I seem a half a million miles from you

You are in my heart and living there

And the moon and the stars are the same ones you see

It's the same old sun up in the sky

And your voice in my ear is like heaven to me

Like the breezes here in old Shanghai

(Dave)

There are lovers who walk hand in hand in the park

And lovers who walk all alone

There are lovers who lie unafraid in the dark

And lovers who long for home

I couldn't leave you even if I wanted to

You're in my dreams and always near

And especially when I sing the songs I wrote for you

You are in my heart and living there

(Dave and Vinny)

And the moon and the stars are the same ones you see

It's the same old sun up in the sky

And your face in my dreams is like heaven to me

Like the breezes here in old Shanghai

(Dave)

Shanghai breezes, cool and clearing

Evening's sweet caress

(Vinny)

Shanghai breezes, soft and gentle

Remind me of your tenderness

(Dave and Vinny)

And the moon and the stars are the same ones you see

It's the same old sun up in the sky

And your love in my life is like heaven to me

Like the breezes here in old Shanghai

And the moon and the stars are the same ones you see

It's the same old sun up in the sky

And your love in my life is like heaven to me

Like the breezes here in old Shanghai

Just like the breezes here in old Shanghai...

The boys stared silently at the harmony being created, both musically and emotionally, neither believing that their mother came back or that their parents were still together.

The two adults jumped, suddenly, when they heard spontaneous applause coming from the direction of the foyer.

"Boys!" Dave and Vinny greeted them, as their sons ran into the living room and gathered by the piano.

"Oh, I _missed_ you, Mom!" Theodore exclaimed, happily.

"Dave! Mom!" Alvin chortled. "You're still together?"

"How?" Simon asked.

"Well, it turned out that Priscilla was a corporate spy who tricked us and stole all of my music," Dave explained. "But after we explained to Sy what happened, he gave us an extension on the deadline."

"We?" the boys asked. "Us?"

"Why yes, dears!" Vinny perked up. "Mr. Heaves agreed to the extension on the condition that Dave gets help writing new songs, to make up for lost time, and I volunteered to help. That was just the first song we finished together." The children noticed that she punctuated that fact with an affectionate hug on Dave's arm.

Dave's other hand found Vinny's hand and held it. "It was a great way for us to get to know each other better."

In the midst of the duo's unconscious hand-holding, the brothers beamed and gave a collective sigh of relief, grateful that their parents proved mature enough to work things out so well, in the end, and that such a misadventure and a common interest, like music, could bring them even closer together.

Alvin nodded at the open affection being displayed before them with a cockily raised eyebrow, asking in jest, "So, should me, Simon and Theodore draw straws to see who'll get to be the ring-bearer?"

Reddening, Dave and Vinny, gave a self-conscious chuckle to diffuse the awkwardness.

Clearing her throat, Vinny instructed her son, "That's Simon, Theodore and _I_, dear."

Dave scratched the back of his apparently non-itching head. "Fellas, I don't know if something like that would happen, or even if it could happen, or..." he rambled.

Vinny, supportively, holding his hand, to quell the odd tremor or two, told them, "But...should it ever happen...there's nothing that says that there can't be _three_ handsome ring-bearers, on that day."

Alvin stood with cocky pride on the notion. "That's true!"

With talks of a nebulous future settled, for the time being, and living in the present, more than adequate, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore cheered in unison, "Welcome home, Mom!" hugging Vinny and Dave, closely, as one family.

***TO BE CONTINUED***

Song Credits: "Shanghai Breezes" by John Denver

c) 1982 RCA Records


End file.
